The invention relates to a refrigerator and a method for controlling a temperature in a utility chamber of a refrigerator.
In so-called no-frost appliances a cold air flow is fed to the utility chamber. The feeding in of cold air results in condensing surfaces with reduced surface temperatures in the utility chamber, on which condensate and/or ice may form. To prevent such condensate and/or ice formation, defrost heating elements may be provided in the utility chamber.
A generic refrigerator is known from EP 1 878 986 A1, in which the cold air flow can be introduced into the utility chamber by means of a control device when a cooling signal is present. The defrost heating element for preventing the formation of condensate and/or ice caused by the cold air flow is switched on or off by means of the control device. The defrost heating element is elaborately controlled by means of signals in accordance with the utility chamber temperature. As soon as the temperature in the utility chamber exceeds an upper temperature threshold, the heating element is switched on. When the temperature falls below a lower threshold, the heating element is switched off.
A further refrigerator with a defrost heating element is known from WO 2008/004441 A1. A compressor is switched on at the start of a cooling operation. When the compressor is switched on, the heating element operation is simultaneously interrupted and resumed following expiry of a time interval. Power consumption by the heating element is interrupted during a start-up phase of the compressor, whereby a stable compressor operation can be established following a brief start-up phase.
A further refrigerator with a defrost heating element is known from JP 2001174119A. The utility chamber in the refrigerator is force-ventilated with cold air. When a target cooled temperature is reached in the cooling chamber, the defrost heating element is switched off for the forced ventilation. As soon as the utility chamber temperature falls below the target temperature, the heating element is switched off with a time delay.